Their Story
by amwong88
Summary: [COMPLETE] Some people fall in love and their story begins from there. Other stories begin long before that because they were born to love each other. ShikaIno.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

Have been on a ShikaIno kick this past weekend and this story was screaming at me to be written so here it is. And if my exam grades suffer because of it...then so be it (sigh)...

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Once upon a time, there was a village called Konoha. It was a ninja village, meaning most the villagers, in what appeared to be a peaceful, prosperous place, were either regular folk, or people who had killed someone by the time they were ten. Not only that, but these killing machines were praised for it, encouraged to develop more and more deadly attacks in a time where hesitation or mercy were nothing more than a cry for death.

So this story is about death and mayhem, you ask? No, not exactly. It's more about the kinds of relationships that flourish in this type of atmosphere. It's about the story of two people whose lives are defined by their lifestyles and more importantly, by each other.

Our tale begins on that fateful night when two children were born in Konoha Hospital. The stars were shining and the sky was clear, but both of the two fathers were too busy to notice. No, they were too busy pacing and sweating out in the hallway, occasionally clutching at each other while a third friend sat on one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs and munched on a riceball. As the sound of crying broke the air, the two men rushed towards the doors of the delivery rooms, each rejoicing at the sight of a bundle of tiny limbs and a scrunched-up red face.

The newly-born babies, which just so happen to be the main characters of this story, were placed in the nearby baby ward. Blissfully oblivious of their proud papas as they stood beaming at them from the room window, the babies yawned simultaneously because, well, because that's what babies do. Isn't it odd how yawning seems to be contagious? I mean, the person next to you could be yawning and then, all of a sudden, you feel this inexplicable urge to do the same…

But we're getting off topic here. Why don't we listen in on the fathers since the babies don't seem to be doing any talking yet?

"Oi Inoshi, you decided what you're going to name her yet?"

The blonde man grinned, swiping a chip from his other friend who protested, but not too loudly. After all, the man did just have a baby.

"Yeah, Ino. Yamanaka Ino. The wife picked it."

"Nice. Wife picked out our boy's as well…Shikamaru."

"Not bad, Shikato. Funny how they sound pretty much like our names. Actually, it's funny how both of them were born at pretty much the same time. Midori wasn't due until next week."

The tall, black-haired man shrugged.

"Well, my boy was due last week. The wife was throwing a fit back home about how he was probably too lazy to come out on time. Takes after his old man, I'd say."

His chest puffed out proudly as he glanced back at the little blue bundle. A faint layer of dark fuzz could be seen on the baby's head. He did indeed appear to take after his old man. Pulling out a cigarette, Shikato was about to light it when a familiar voice, heavy with exhaustion yet still loud enough to clearly convey her irritation, travelled up the hallway.

"Don't you dare light that, Shikato! This is a hospital and…"

Alright, let's leave them there. We don't really need to see a grown man hastily hide his own cigarette in his pocket as if his wife could somehow see through walls. Or maybe she could, considering the miraculous way she knew what he was doing…but that's beside the point. It's probably better if we check in on the hero and heroine before retreating for tonight.

The tiny baby girl, Ino as her father told us, was fidgeting under her blanket. Her lips were forming what might be considered a miniature pout before opening wide in a loud cry.

Her father turned back anxiously to the window before a passing nurse reassured him that that was something all babies did. He was just commenting smugly on how healthy she sounded while his friends were wincing at the incredible noise level she was reaching when the three men witnessed the beginning of it all.

Little baby Shikamaru opened his eyes and turned his head to face whatever it was that had woken him up. Now, we're not sure how clearly he could see since he was a mere three or four hours old but what we are sure of, is what happened next.

A small chubby arm appeared from within the folds of the blue blanket and stretched out towards the baby girl on his left. A tiny gurgle escaped his lips at the same time. Amazingly enough, little Ino seemed to hear it despite her incessant wailing. The cries quieted and gradually stopped as she blinked a pair of wide blue eyes at her companion.

The men watched silently as a similarly chubby arm emerged from the folds of the pink blanket and appeared to be grasping towards her right. As the two fell asleep in this position, Inoshi and Shikato glanced at each other.

"So…"

"So…"

The looks on both their faces was contemplative. For you see, despite their behaviour, neither men were stupid. If they were, neither of them would have been made Jounins, one of the highest ninja ranks in the village. And the two of them had been friends long enough to know what the other was thinking when almost identical grins stretched across both their faces.

"Ino, huh?"

"Shikamaru, huh?"

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**A/N:** This is the first time I've written in this style and acknowledgement must be given to 'Another Typical Love Story' by EneriRenie - a definite must-read for ShikaIno fans! Anyways, I'm still uncertain as to whether I want to continue the entire story in this narrative style so please feel free to tell me how you feel about it! 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me unfortunately

YEAH! I managed to finish this early so here it is...and please note to check out the author's notes at the bottom of the page regarding fan story requests. Enjoy!

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It wasn't surprising that the Nara family and the Inoshi family lived pretty close to each other. The men had grown up together in the village ninja academy, passed all their exams together and were even on the same team during most of that period. Suffice to say, our hero and heroine were in close contact with each other for most of their lives. Especially when the men had to go on missions and the wives were left back home. When that happened, it wasn't unusual for them to get together, chat about what big babies their husbands were and to coo over their real babies as they crawled around on the freshly swept floor.

Now baby Ino was growing up to be a real beauty. Her adorable little face was composed of huge blue eyes, glowing white-blonde curls and a little pink rosebud of a mouth. Her daddy often woke up yelling, or alternatively crying, at night from nightmares of his little princess being chased by hoards of nasty boys who wanted to steal her away from him. Perhaps Inoshi's nightmares were somewhat delusional or, at the very least, oddly soundless because if they were anything like reality, they would consist of baby Ino shrieking at her attackers and chucking various household items at them.

Ah yes, baby Ino was, for lack of a better description, a real handful. Two handfuls even. Not a day went by without her mini-tantrums, which her daddy proclaimed as 'the cutest thing he'd ever seen,' before he hastily scampered out the door as quickly as he could. Her mother spent most of her time searching for her during one of her daily explorations and baby Ino was currently fascinated with a big blow-up ball she had found.

Down the street in the Nara residence however, baby Shikamaru was almost the complete opposite. He pretty much slept all day and even when he was awake, he didn't do much besides lie in the exact same position as when he was sleeping, occasionally yawning and scrunching up his face. It was a cute face too. His mother had tied his messy black hair into a little spiky tail at the top of his head so it wouldn't bother him when he was asleep and although his eyes were rather small, they were of an intense black colour.

Did baby Shikamaru know how to crawl yet? Sure he did. He showed off his skill one day when he wanted a particularly bright blue pillow but decided that maybe it was too troublesome to find some way to communicate to his mother what he wanted. It wasn't really in his nature to cry so if he did, his mom would undoubtedly be shocked and start fussing over him. So baby Shikamaru simply rolled over, spent a while figuring out how his baby limbs were supposed to function and made his way over to the desired destination. His parents had gleefully tried to encourage him to do it again, but the kid wasn't interested. He wasn't some show monkey after all. His mother often complained that her son didn't seem to want to do anything, but Shikato wasn't worried. In fact, one of his favourite past times when he was at home was to sit next to his son's crib and drink a beer, yawning in tandem with baby Shikamaru.

Unlike most children, baby Shikamaru's first word was not 'Otousan' or 'Okasan.' Oh no, it was not even his own name, although that might have been because it was too long to pronounce. In fact, much to his parents' surprise, it happened like this:

Baby Ino was almost a year old and her parents had brought her over to the Nara house again for one of their frequent, small get-togethers. She had recently taken her first steps and her proud papa had been eager to show off his little princess to his friend.

"Come on, sweetheart. Come to daddy."

Baby Ino took a few tottering steps towards the beckoning arms of her father before wobbling and landing on her butt. Displeased with the way the adults were laughing, she started shrieking, the wails increasing in both volume and pitch. In truth, baby Ino seldom truly cried anymore. It was more like making enough noise and commotion to distract them from laughing at her.

Her mother scooped her up and sat her down in her lap on the sofa, trying to placate her with a sweet. The men were just in the midst of trying to make some excuse to escape the headache-inducing sound when baby Shikamaru, who just so happened to be lolling next to her in his own mother's lap, made his grand statement.

"I…I-no…"

Complete and utter silence filled the room. Yes, even the screaming monster who looked like an angel had fallen silent. All eyes were fixed on the spiky-haired boy reaching over to clumsily pat baby Ino on the foot.

"I-no."

Chaos erupted in the Nara house.

"My boy's a genius! You hear that, Yamanaka? His first word…and not even a year old! Genius!"

Shikato swooped down to pluck his son out of his mother's arms and whirl him enthusiastically in the air. Unimpressed with his father's uncharacteristic display of energy, baby Shikamaru merely yawned at him, opting instead to close his eyes until it was all over.

But baby Ino did not close her eyes. No indeed, hers were focused on the boy who had mumbled what she recognized to be her own name. And although her inability to form his name frustrated her little mind, baby Ino did not cry as she usually did. Instead, she clapped her hands as she let out a gurgle of merry laughter.

And even though everyone else might have missed it, neither we, nor the baby girl who was staring so intently at him, did. At the sound of her laughter, the corner of baby Shikamaru's lips curved up in a faint, reciprocating smile.

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**A/N: **Okay so I had posted this up on my profile page but then I wasn't sure how many people actually read that thing so here it is again:

Since I'm goingtohave more time during Christmas and I'm kinda feeling in the "_groove_" right now (please excuse the 70s language lol), have decided to take fan requests for NARUTO pairings. So please feel free to drop me a line in a review or message me via the link on my profile page telling me what kind of pairing and maybe the general storyline idea you would like to read. The resulting stories...I'll probably do a couple or more depending on how much time I have...will probably be one-shots, ok? Thanks and happy reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

Ahhhh, do you have any idea how stressful a law school final exam that is worth 90 or 100 percent is? Have been studying in the library and you feel like every time you make the slightest noise, someone is going to snap and throw a book at you. Sigh...

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Now, Ino is a kind-hearted girl. True, she is loud and bossy and bad-tempered, but she is also compassionate and giving. Who else would have stood up for classmates others considered not worth knowing? Let's take Akamirchi Chouji for example. Besides the fact that he's the son of one of her daddy's best friends, Ino took it upon herself to continually remind him to stop eating so much. She does not do it to be cruel like the other kids and Chouji knows this. She does it because she cares about his health and how others view him; if she didn't care, she would not even bother wasting the time and energy to keep yelling at him all the time. Uzumaki Naruto is another good example. Sure, Ino often engages in long and annoying shouting matches with him, but then again, Ino does that with all her friends. It might seem like an odd sort of relationship but Naruto is grateful that she does not treat him any different, unlike almost everyone else in the village.

So the fact of the matter is, despite her somewhat abrasive attitude, Ino is extremely fond of those she accepts as friends. You might even say that this makes her more vulnerable to being hurt since it is hard for her to understand why someone would reject what she is giving so freely. And that is exactly what happened between her and Sakura.

Ah yes, little pink-haired Haruno Sakura. You see, back in kindergarten, young Sakura had been mercilessly teased by the other girls for her unusually large forehead. So was her forehead actually abnormally large? It's hard to tell; maybe everyone else's was just unusually small. But little kids rarely consider the other side of things when they are being cruel.

Anyways, along comes Ino, who promptly launches into an angry tirade at the small lynching mob. Lucky for her, Ino was rather popular and had enough clout and lung-power to scare off the other girls while deciding to take Sakura under her wing. As a sign of her friendship, Ino gave Sakura a red ribbon to tie her hair back. Now why would someone with a supposedly large forehead want to expose it to the whole world? Ino had an answer to that too: because you are who you are and if others don't like it, then they're not worth your time. Besides, Ino didn't think Sakura was ugly and she told her so everyday until young Sakura started to believe that maybe it was true.

So imagine the confusion our heroine felt when one day, out of the blue, Sakura shoves the ribbon back at her and declares that they are no longer friends simply because she had heard that Ino liked the same boy Sakura did. Namely, young and moody Uchiha Sasuke. Well then, one might wonder, does that mean Sakura is going to refuse to be friends with every single girl in the village since almost all of them were crushing after the same guy? Was Sakura really foolish enough to turn her back on all her girl friends just for some guy who really couldn't care less about any of them? The answer is...yes. But this story isn't about how stupid Sakura is or how much she deserves to be lonely. It's about Ino and Shikamaru, who coincidentally runs into Ino after that particular incident.

Perhaps 'run' isn't the correct term since Shikamaru would rarely do something so troublesome unless he absolutely had to. Regardless, he comes across Ino while she is slumped in a park swing. Mildly surprised when she doesn't call out to him like she usually does, he saunters over to her and sits himself down in the other swing.

"Oi."

His grunt is barely acknowledged and now young Shikamaru is getting a bit worried. Was she sick or something? It wasn't like Ino to just sit around staring at the ground. That was his job. Then he saw it. The ribbon clutched in her small hand as she sat unmoving. Although Shikamaru is only 9, his genius brain is already fully functioning and it doesn't take him long to put two and two together. He knows Ino and Sakura are supposed to be best friends just like how he and Chouji are best friends. And he also knows the kind of person Ino is. So Shikamaru does not say anything, opting instead to swing lazily until she is ready to talk to him.

"Shikamaru?"

"Eh?"

Ino's head is bowed and he doesn't like it. The regular Ino would always stare straight into someone's eyes when she is talking to them.

"Sakura gave me the ribbon back. The one I gave her."

"Hn."

He doesn't say anything else. Nor does he need to. They sit there in companionable silence as the birds chirp and the wind rustles through their hair. Shikamaru is busy thinking about nothing and about many things when he suddenly catches a glimpse of sunlight gleaming off her wet cheeks.

Ino was crying. For real.

And so he does something completely out of character for someone as lazy as himself. He stands behind her swing and starts pushing it.

"Awk! Shikamaru!"

She barely has time to grab hold of the side chains. Craning her head back to glare at him, her brilliant blue eyes soften as they meet his darker ones. Ino understands that he is trying to cheer her up and she appreciates the fact that he knows that sometimes words are not necessary.

Laughing and wiping away the tears, she swings her legs in the air, encouraging him to push harder. And amidst his half-hearted grumbling that his arms are getting tired and her scolding that he should train more instead of watching clouds all day, Ino hears the softly-spoken plea that will stay with her through many years of painful training and dangerous missions.

"Don't cry, Ino."

**-o-O-o-**

It wasn't until some time next week that Shikamaru sees Sakura.

Feeling someone staring at her, the pink-haired girl turns to face a wiry boy with a spiky black ponytail watching her with an uncomfortably intense gaze. She doesn't really know anything about him other than he is the boy who sleeps through every class but there is something in his eyes that make her cringe and turn quickly away.

She can't exactly say it was hostility or contempt; after all, Sakura cannot remember having done anything to offend him and words of that nature seem too strong to apply to a person like that. But whatever it was, it was that moment that made her hesitant and doubtful of his character in the future.

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**A/N:** Am still taking requests for Naruto pairings - I've definately chosen one so far but am still thinking. Next update should be coming in a week or so - have fun and please review! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

Ouch, it's 3 in the morning right now and FINALLY finished this chapter. Have to do my Chrismas shopping still - crap I hate crowds...

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We join our hero and heroine in the midst of yet another familiar scene. Unfortunately for her new teammates, Ino was more than a little dissatisfied with the team selections. You see, Sakura had managed to be paired with Naruto and Sasuke, the same Sasuke that Ino was determined to have simply because well, everyone else wanted him too. There was no clear reason why she had decided this but in truth, it was partly because Sakura had already accused her of it so Ino figured she might as well.

Ah, the thing is, our girl ended up in the same team as Shikamaru and Chouji. Their parents were thrilled, jabbering on about a new generation of the Yamanaka-Nara-Akimichi trio. However, the old trio had never had to deal with a somewhat temperamental female who had spent the first half hour of their time together moaning about how she wanted to be in another group.

Now, the two boys were used to Ino complaining, Ino whining and Ino yelling. They were even used to her whacking them whenever she got mad. That's why most of the time, they either just ignored her until she eventually ran out of steam or complied with her wishes because she would keep nagging them until they did anyways.

Chouji opened yet another bag of chips. Considering he didn't carry a bag and there are only so many pockets in a shirt and pair of pants, where he kept them hidden was a mystery. Perhaps a mystery best left unsolved.

"Come on, Ino. It won't be that bad."

As always, she had a sharp retort ready. There were lots of things she could say but Ino did not. Why? Because she saw the way he was looking at her. No, not Chouji. He was busy searching inside the already-empty bag for any leftover pieces.

It was Shikamaru.

Well, he wasn't really _looking_ at her. Not directly at least. But she knew he was watching her out of the corner of his eyes. He was listening, listening and waiting for her answer.

"No. I guess not."

Ino sighed, absently accepting one of Chouji's proffered biscuits. He always did that to her. Made her feel…guilty wasn't exactly the right word. It was more like an actual ache in her chest. Something that pulled at her and pulled her away from disappointing him. She didn't want to disappoint him.

"What the…? Chouji! I'm on a diet!"

Thumping the boy on the arm, Ino stomps over to a nearby log. Shooting dirty looks over at a completely bewildered Chouji, she sits and traces idle patterns in the dirt with a twig. At this point, our boy slowly makes his way to stand beside her.

"Clouds."

Alright, so that was not something that really required a response. What could you say anyways? 'Nice'? Ino didn't even bother trying. She simply scribbled 'baka' in the dirt. He saw it.

"You really that upset?"

The twig paused in its movements.

"No."

It was the truth. She wasn't upset per say. She didn't _not_ like her team; it was more like she was frustrated that Sakura had won. There was a difference.

Ino shifted, motioning for him to sit beside her. Breaking off half of her twig, she handed it to him with a small smile. That was her way of apologizing for her outburst and Shikamaru knew it. That was why he scrawled 'Ino' next to her 'baka.' It earned him an elbow in the ribs but also a burst of laughter.

"Hey, Chouji! Come here!"

Waving the other boy over, Ino started talking enthusiastically, her previous bad mood forgiven and forgotten.

"Why don't we all get some sort of symbol? Like a team symbol?"

"You mean…(munch, munch)…like a banner?"

"Hmmm, maybe more like a necklace. Or a ring."

"Necklaces are dangerous during missions, Ino. They could get caught on something and choke you."

"Yeah…(munch, munch)…and I don't want to wear a ring. It'll just get greasy when I eat chicken, or corn, or fish…."

"Okay, okay!"

Ino was on the verge of throwing her hands in the air and giving up. Or rather, throwing her sandals on their heads and ordering them to use their brains. But then our clever girl got a better idea.

"What about an earring then? A small one that won't get caught on anything."

The two boys were silent. Chouji looked at Shikamaru, who shrugged. He didn't mind. And so they decided to get it tomorrow. Something simple because Ino thought it suited the three of them better. Neither of them argued with her decision. It had always been easier to just follow her lead.

So when the three of them showed up at the next day's training, Asuma wondered around his ever-present cigarette if it was a trend to wear only one earring. Fingering the small silver hoop in her ear, Ino proudly declared that it was a symbol of their friendship.

"Friendship, huh? How's it supposed to symbolize that?"

Rolling her eyes at the tall man scratching the back of his neck in a way that reminded her of Shikamaru, she tried to explain. It's silver because none of their techniques are flashy. It's small because they're a tight-knit group. And it's a hoop because it represents their never-ending trust and dependence on each other.

"Never-ending trust, eh?"

The doubt in his voice pissed her off so Ino 'accidentally' kicked him in the shin.

"Yeah, it's never-ending trust! We share one life now."

Shikamaru lifted his head sharply at that. What was going through his mind at that moment, one can only guess. But Ino was too busy denying that she had kicked her teacher on purpose to notice how her childhood friend suddenly looked wise beyond his years. Nor was she able to catch what he thoughtfully muttered under his breath.

"One life now."

Interesting how sometimes you say things off-handedly but they turn out to be true, huh?

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**A/N: **I'm not too pleased with this chapter but I wanted to update it on time. Next one should be coming in a week - I've already written parts of it and it's turning out well but just needs some editing. Thanks! and Merry Christmas! 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

Sooo tired...boxing day shopping is crazy. I always wonder if the stores raise the prices before boxing day and then discount them back just to seem like it is on sale. I'm kinda figuring that things are actually cheaper if you shop AFTER Christmas.

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The problem with Ino is that, sometimes she is so busy searching and chasing, she doesn't stop to think about what is going on around her. And although she would never deliberately hurt someone she cares about, it is this careless quality of hers that hurts the most.

Not quite sure what that means? Then let's follow our beautiful young girl as she makes her way up a grassy hill not far from their training area. It is late afternoon and the team has finished their daily training. Asuma has already disappeared to who-knows-where and Chouji wanted to hurry home because his mother had promised to make grilled squid for supper. Unwilling to head off just yet, Ino sets off in search of her other teammate.

She has not seen him in a while. Well, that's not strictly correct since she sees him everyday, but she hasn't _talked _to him in a long time. In fact, if Ino would just stop to consider why, she would discover that she hasn't really talked to him since she launched her 'must-glomp-Sasuke-kun-whenever-I-see-him' attack a couple of months ago. But unfortunately, Ino doesn't realize this; the only thing she does realize is that some part of her feels dull. Like something was missing or out of place.

So she is truly pleased when she sees the familiar long-limbed form of Shikamaru stretched out on the grass underneath the waving willow tree. Running up to him, she deliberately stands blocking his view of the sky.

"Hey, Shikamaru!"

He doesn't answer. Actually, he's pretending to be asleep but they both know that he's not fooling anyone.

"Shikamaru!"

This time her shout is accompanied by a stomp of her sandaled foot. He sighs.

"Yes, Ino?"

If his eyes were open, he would have seen the wide smile that spread across her face.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see how long you were planning on playing dead."

He mutters something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Mendokeuse,' but lucky for him, she pretends not to hear it. Plopping down on the grass next to him, Ino adjusts the tight wrappings on her stomach.

"I told you not to wear those. They'll stunt your growth."

The comment was as laconic as usual but Ino picks up on the undercurrent tone of scolding. It prompts her to scold back.

"And I told you not to lie out in the sun all day. You're going to get a sun burn."

"No, I just get tanned. Besides, the sun's going down already."

And he was right. The setting sun painted the sky a burnished orange and stretched their shadows out long and thin. Even though his eyes are closed, Ino sticks her tongue out childishly at him before resting her head on her bent knees and staring out over the village square.

"Hey, Shika?"

He grunts in reply.

"I've missed you."

Her voice is soft but it carries far enough. One dark eyes cracks open marginally to fix on her slim back. He does not say anything for a few minutes. Then, long calloused fingers slowly reach out to touch herswinging ponytail. He threads the pale strands between his fingers thoughtfully before tugging gently on them.

"Yeah, me too."

The quiet answer fills her with a strange sort of warmth. Turning to smile down at him, Ino shifts closer. They continue like this for a long while, him playing with the ends of her hair and her allowing him to do so. All is peaceful until Ino speaks without thinking, or rather, speaks without thinking of what context she is doing so.

"Do you love anyone, Shika?"

His dark eyes narrow briefly at her innocent tone before lifting back to the clouds.

"Depends on what you mean by love."

Ino frowns, flicking a fallen leaf off her leg.

"What do you mean? Love is love."

"Well in that case, there's my dad, even though he's a whipped, lazy bum. And my mom, except maybe when she's screaming at me to do stuff…"

A small hand whaps him on the knee.

"No, stupid! I mean, love as in romantic love."

The boy scowls as he cautiously shifts his leg out of the danger zone. He really should have known better than to mess with Ino but he could not help it that time.

"See? Love isn't love. Even you were referring to something different."

She huffs, irritated that he has won again.

"Fine! You were right! Happy now?"

He shrugs.

"I can't answer unless you tell me what your definition of love is. We could be talking about different things."

Ino lets out an exasperated sigh. Tugging her hair away from him, she flops down completely next to him and squints up at the sky. Shivering as a sharp, early night breeze whistles over the hill, she blinks as a jacket suddenly drapes itself over her.

"Shikamaru?"

He barely turns to look at her.

"You're going to catch a cold. It's too troublesome to have you complaining about how it's my fault for the next two weeks."

Deciding to let this particular jab go in light of his consideration, Ino snuggles under his flak jacket. It is still warm and carries a faint musky scent she recognizes as belonging distinctly to Shikamaru. It is strangely soothing and Ino inches closer to his relaxed body. He does not move when she rests her head against his shoulder, nor does he comment when she loops her arms through his.

Quietly lying there for a while, Ino finally speaks up.

"I think love is when you admire someone, when you respect them and want to be with them all the time. It's when you see only them. You want them to look at you the same way you look at them because it feels like there's this awful ache in your chest when they don't. You feel like the sun shines brighter and your whole life is more worth the living simply because they're there beside you."

Her softly murmured words hangs suspended between them as the two watch the sky fade from crimson to a velvety dark blue. It is some time before Shikamaru responds; in fact, Ino had nearly fallen asleep. He was wonderfully warm.

"Yeah, I think it's all those things."

His voice is a pleasant rumble that Ino can feel rising from within his chest. Resolutely ignoring the odd fluttering in her stomach at the deep sound, Ino tilts her head up to look at him. He is not looking at her though; choosing instead to focus on the first twinkling stars as they appeared in the sky.

"But I also think it's more than that. I think it means you consciously acknowledge how important they are…not just to you, but to everyone around them. It means you value their life so much that you would do anything to see them happy, to protect them."

Ino is surprised. She had not expected him to take her question so seriously.

"So you mean you would die for them? That seems a bit too troublesome for you, Shika. I could never love someone that way."

Her teasing tone is met with a dark, glittering intensity. Her breath caught in her throat at the indecipherable look in his eyes as he abruptly detangles himself from her and stands, the trademark indolent posture at odds with the tension in his shoulders. He doesn't look away so neither does she.

"Yeah, I would die for them. Because they _are_ my life. I'm no good without them."

With that, he pulls her up and gestures for her to follow him as he walks her back home. The trip is silent and it isn't until Ino is back in warmth of her own room that she realizes that she is still wearing his jacket and that he had not answered her question.

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**A/N: **Ahhh, things are so complicated in my life right now. Don't you hate it when people say something but don't elaborate on it or they actually mean something else and you then spend the next couple of days trying to figure out what it was that they actually _mean_? And I'm talking about guys here (since I'm a girl). Such a headache. Actually, can you guys give me some advice? If a guy blows hot and cold, is it cuz he actually intends to avoid you and is telling you to back off, or is it because he doesn't want to seem over-eager and is playing it cool? 

Anyways, next update in a week and warning: some angst to be expected...


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

New Year's has been pretty calm. It's amazing how boring doing nothing can be - I've gotten into a routine of waking at 3 pm and sleeping at5 in the morning. I guess I just function better at night considering I do most of my writing then. Been absolutely obsessed with _Bleach _lately. Fans of this anime should definately check out 'Come What May' by Virgo1 (it's on my favourite's list) - amazing!

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Jealousy is an ugly thing.

It can erupt at the most inconvenient of times and then stubbornly refuse to go away despite your best intentions. If you try to ignore it, it will gnaw away at you, tearing you apart from the inside out until there is nothing left but a hollow shell that is no good to anyone. But if you let it explode, the consequences are sometimes even worst. You could find yourself in a horrible screaming match that ends with one person stalking away and the two of you not talking for ages.

How different people handle it varies. Let's look at Shikamaru, for instance. He's a pretty laid-back guy. You would think he'd consider time-consuming emotions like jealousy too troublesome to even bother with. Yes, you would think that, but that does not mean it's necessarily true. Because you see, if you watch carefully enough, you will discover little hints that maybe our hero isn't as stoic as he seems.

Take all those times when Ino threw herself on one Uchiha Sasuke. If you ignore the squealing girl and irritated target for a split second, then you would catch the way Shikamaru's eyes automatically slide away from the scene. He might yawn or stare off into the distance like he usually does whenever he's daydreaming standing up. But the moment Ino gets off the popular, skilled and handsome village heartthrob, our boy magically wakes up again, albeit with an muted, harder gleam in his eyes.

So what, you might wonder? Maybe he's just disgusted by the way his teammate is making a fool of herself. Maybe it's happened so often that he's just tired of it. And both are probably true too. But then you would have to take into account his almost-sullen mood afterwards and the fact that those are usually the days that he chooses to spend the rest of his free time away from the team. Those are the days when he can most likely be found underneath the same lonely willow tree, staring up at the clouds with an oddly blank look on his face.

Now let's take a look at Ino. She's straight-forward and energetic, prone to saying whatever it is that's on her mind and not holding anything back. You would expect her to be the type who wouldn't stand for feeling jealous. Heck, you wouldn't even expect someone as beautiful as her to ever even feel jealous. But if she did, she seems more like the type who would blow up and give the guy a piece of her mind, right?

Actually, when you think about it, it might not be surprising to find that maybe Ino doesn't handle _real_ emotions well. Like that time when Sakura announced that they were no longer friends. The pink-haired girl had fully expected the loud kunoichi to start yelling at her and maybe even mocking her. But that had not happened. Ino had simply stood there, staring confusedly at the ribbon in her hand and after a while, Sakura decided to walk away. And as we saw, Ino only allowed herself to let it out for a moment, a moment when the tears had leaked down her cheeks before being banished by a certain spiky-haired boy.

With that in mind, it might be easier to understand why Ino reacts the way she does upon a new addition to the Konoha scene:

Ino had not gone to the hospital right away. She knew that the team had arrived back from their Sasuke mission and that many of them were injured. From her position behind the front desk of the Yamanaka flower shop, she had watched as Shikamaru's mother rushed down the street, followed soon after by Chouji's mother, still wearing her yellow apron. Her own mother had popped her head in a moment later to frantically tell Ino that the boys were in the hospital and if she wanted to see them, it would be alright to close up the shop early.

The air around her had seemed to solidify, making it hard for Ino to think or move. At her lack of response, her mother had forcefully shepherded her out of the store and in the direction of the hospital.

Ino had walked blindly and slowly for a while. There were too many thoughts running through her head, all of them jostling for an answer. Why had they gone after Sasuke-kun in the first place? How come she had not been told or asked to go with her teammates? What were they doing in the hospital; shouldn't they have gone to the Hokage's Tower to report back first? Was somebody hurt…dying even? Was it Chouji? Or Shikama…

She had started running then. And when that was too slow, she started leaping from rooftop to rooftop, forcing her whirling mind to focus on one thing: that she needed to get to the hospital right away.

And so she did. Her relief was great upon hearing that all of the boys had made it back alive, but quickly turned to shock at the news that, along with Hyuuga prodigy Neji, Chouji was one of the two in critical condition. She knew she would not be allowed in to see him but still wanted to be there while they treated him. He needed her support.

It was outside the operating room that Ino first felt it. She had taken the stairs up and had been ready to turn the corner when she heard a female voice say "You received emotional training, didn't you?"

The voice was familiar in its self-assured huskiness. It was that sand kunoichi, the one who had battled Shikamaru in the Chuunin Exam. Ino had been ready to confront her on her motive for being in Konoha again when she heard an equally familiar low voice answer.

Shikamaru.

She had listened to their conversation, said nothing as Shikamaru was taught a lesson by his father when he tried to walk away and watched as the boy stood there with his head bowed and shoulders shaking after Tsunade-sama's announcement. He was crying.

For the first time that Ino could remember, Shikamaru was crying.

She had wanted to scream and break something, preferably Uchiha Sasuke's head. She had wanted to rush out and hug him, to assure him that next time, he would do better. She had wanted to wipe away his tears and cry in his place, because it hurt. It hurt to see Shikamaru, who had never tried to be something he was not, be broken for the sake of someone who had betrayed everyone to be something despicable.

But it had all seemed too personal, too much of an invasion into his private space. Something told her that he would not want her to see him like this and so, Ino did none of those things. Instead, she had slid down and sat there on the cold tiled floor, staring silently at the slightly smudged dull green wall directly opposite her. She continued to listen as he slowly made his way back to the chairs outside the room. That sand kunoichi had started talking to him again. Alternatively insulting and reassuring him in a way Ino immediately recognized as an awkward attempt to comfort. After all, Ino had used it often enough herself.

And the boy had responded. No, not so much verbally since he rarely uttered more than a grunt or monosyllable. But Ino knew him well enough to identify the gradual steadying of his 'Hn's and faint amusement in his short retorts. And as she sat there alone and out of the loop in an empty corridor, separated from the two shinobi exchanging jabs outside the recovery room of her other critically injured friend, Ino felt the first disturbing stirrings inside her chest.

She felt as though she had lost her place.

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**A/N: **Yeah, like I've been chatting with a couple of reviewers, writing fan fics is like therapy for me. Jealousy is thrilling when it's directed at you by your sig other but when you experience it, who knew that that particular combo of chemicals in your brain could be so agonizing.

NEWAYS, next update in a week as usual. Have a great holidays!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

Yeps, here's the revised version of this chapter. Thank you to**The Prime Minister **and **Hikari-03 **for all your thoughtful suggestions and criticism! I've decided to just fix the grammar and leave the mid-chp narration in just cuz I wanna stick to that style. You guys are the best!

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Do you have some sort of ratty, yet beloved old toy sitting around in your room somewhere?

Many people do. The toy in question might be missing an eye or look like a mangled piece of garbage that your mother keeps nagging you to throw out. But we know better. That toy is a symbol, a memory. Perhaps a memory of something near and dear that happened in the past or perhaps a symbol of hopes and dreams for the future.

We see Ino standing in the middle of her room doing nothing.

It has been weeks since that day in the hospital. Weeks since she felt that odd gnawing sensation. It hasn't subsided and Ino found that she could not ignore it. What was wrong with her? She was pretty sure she wasn't ill or anything but she definitely felt sick. It was frustrating to say the least.

Her discontented gaze fell on a certain stuffed animal nestled amidst the plain white sheets on her bed. Ino reached down to touch the furry arm gently. She could still remember that morning exactly, even though it had happened nearly seven years ago.

It had been a sunny day, nothing out of the ordinary, and our young girl had been sitting on the front steps of her house. There had not been much to do and Ino had contented herself with making her way through a plate of dango while humming cheerfully under her breath.

A small shadow made itself known over her arm and Ino had turned a welcoming smile on the young boy standing next to her. A grunt came in reply as he simply stood there silently while she continued to smile up at him.

"Here."

A familiar brown bear had been thrust under her nose. Ino had blinked down at it before slowly reaching up to take hold of it. The stuffed animal was soft and slightly ragged from many years of love.

"Momo-kun?"

The tiny scowl had been accompanied by an embarrassed shifting away of his eyes.

"Stop calling him such a girly name. It's Momotsu."

Ino had looked at him curiously.

"But why are you giving him to me? You love him."

The usual grunt had escaped his lips again as he seated himself on the wooden steps next to her. The change in direction allowed him to turn to face the road, making it so that he could legitimately hide from her clear blue gaze.

"Yeah, well. You like him too, right? This way it won't be so troublesome."

Ino had smiled. He sounded so gruff. She could remember all those times she had teased the boy about the small toy sitting on his unmade bed. He had always refused to allow her to dress up the bear nor allowed her to use it as a hostage during their ninja games. His giving gesture had touched her greatly so Ino had refrained from the bubbling urge to tease him until the slight flush on his cheeks burned darker.

She had wordlessly offered him one of her sweets instead, which he took stoically as she cuddled the bear to her. They had spent the afternoon like that.

Ever since that day, Momo-kun resided on her bed. At nights, she cuddled him tightly, breathing in the faint scent of its previous owner that she was convinced still lingered even after many careful washings.

Shikamaru had come to her room once. His eyes had rested on the bear lying between her pillows before lifting to meet hers briefly. Ino had felt as though a curling warmth had infused her body at the gentleness she had glimpsed within those dark depths. He had said nothing and neither had she since she had felt oddly shy about drawing attention to the fact that she still slept with the bear he had given to her.

Ino groaned audibly. For some reason, the room felt stifling now. She needed to get out, needed to blow off some steam somewhere. We follow her as she leapt easily out the window and made her way across the rooftops towards the training field.

Another girl was already there, rhythmically landing blow after blow on the tall posts. It was that Hyuuga girl, the one with the pale eyes and dark hair. Ino has always had a soft spot for her; she was so quiet, so withdrawn.

"Ino-chan."

The soft greeting was met with a not exactly forced smile as our girl chose a post nearby.

"Hi, Hinata-chan. You're not at the hospital today?"

The Hyuuga had been visiting her cousin daily ever since he returned from the Sasuke mission with a hole blasted through his shoulder.

_The Sasuke mission._

Ino whacked her leg against the post, falling into the familiar taijutsu routine. The dull twinge seemed to counter the ache inside and she was grateful for it.

"N-no. Neji nii-san returned home yesterday. He…he needed to rest so I came out to train."

The girl was fidgeting as some sort of emotion clouded those opaque eyes. Normally, Ino would have made some loud and cheerful comment to change the subject but today, she just did not feel up to it.

"It's good that he's doing better though. Chouji's up and running again, probably stuffing himself to make extra sure that he can fit back into his clothes."

They chatted intermittently. Then the Hyuuga brought it up.

"It…it's a good thing the other shinobi got there, right? I heard that they're leaving today."

Ino knew.

Someone had told her that Shikamaru would be seeing them off at the village gates. She couldn't remember who though. Over these past few weeks, she had seen him with them as they stayed at the Godaime's invitation. They could often be found sauntering through the village, the red-head silent while the blonde, and occasionally the other one, argued almost continuously with Shikamaru. He tended to reply in his usual offhanded manner, his half-lidded eyes drifting restlessly as though in search of something.

Ino never approached them. Once when she had been treating Chouji to ramen at Ichiraku as a sort of belated welcome-back gift, the four of them had walked in. They had seated themselves next to Chouji and Ino had muttered some excuse about being needed at the flower ship before placing the money on the counter and walking out. She had not said a word to any of them but she could feel their gazes, one in particular, as she nearly stumbled in her urgency to escape.

"Hmm."

The twinge became a painful ache as the strength of her blows escalated abruptly. The two were silent after this, each lost in their own thoughts.

**-o-O-o-**

Hinata had left a while ago, seeming to hesitate as she watched Ino's increasingly furious attacks but too timid to say anything. Ino could feel the sweat running down her face. Damn, it was hot today.

"Oi."

She barely paused, concentrating fiercely on the wooden post in front of her.

"What are you doing, Ino?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

The boy watched silently for a moment, his dark eyes traveling over the battered post as every whack of her hand or leg smeared more of her blood on the old wood.

"Something troublesome. Like you're trying to paint that pole with your blood."

She ignored him, hissing angrily as raw flesh scraped against the rough surface, the bindings under her arm wraps torn and useless.

"Stop. You're hurting yourself."

Ino has always been stubborn. He should have known better. If anything, the frequency and strength of the hits increased.

"Stop it, Ino!"

Large hands grasped her by the shoulders and jerked her to the side. Screeching, Ino shoved him away, dimly noting the trail of red marking his Chuunin vest by her movements.

Her blood.

"Let go of me!"

He stared at her as she stood there, her chest heaving and her pale hair flying in a tangled mess around her flushed cheeks. It was unbearable, this pressure in her chest that was both suffocating and threatening to explode at the same time. And the way he was watching her with that curiously shrewd expression wasn't helping in the least.

"Stop staring at me! What's your problem, anyways?"

"What's yours?"

She glared at him, forcing down the sudden sting in her eyes.

"You! You're my problem so why don't you just leave me alone?"

Shikamaru simply followed as she stomped furiously across the now empty field. The sun was still shining brightly down on them and Ino suddenly found herself unable to move. Her eyes dropped to her feet and noticed, without surprise, that he had caught hold of her using his Kagemane.

"Let go of me, Shikamaru."

Her voice took on a colder, calmer edge and somehow, that seemed to irritate the boy even more.

"No."

She found herself turning around to face him. He was standing right in front of her, his lean arms crossed solidly across his chest as he stared down at her. He could be just as stubborn as she was.

"Tell me what's going on, Ino."

At times like these, Ino was definitely grateful that his technique did not include controlling the movement of his captive's eyes. She fixed determinedly on the smear of her blood on his green vest. Somehow, that reminder of her weakness, her existence as nothing more than someone who stained his clothes with her need for protection, was almost obscenely vivid.

She bet the sand shinobi never bled on him.

"Talk to me, Ino."

She could not even shake her head. It was ironic how he usually grunted at her constant chattering and was now voluntarily asking her to talk. He said nothing, waiting patiently for her to respond. The silence was heavy, broken only by her desperately muffled harsh pants.

"Her…"

The word slipped out before she could clamp her lips shut.

Ino blamed it on the pressure inside her; it had forced it out. She had not wanted to say anything. She could almost feel his gaze sharpen. Ino had always known that underneath that perpetually lazy sheen, Shikamaru was a deeply intense person. If he cared, then he cared with everything inside him. If he ever went to the trouble of looking you in the eye, then you would be blown away by the swirl of emotions in those dark depths.

And it was this seeming contradiction, this well-hidden maelstrom of passion that had always called out to Ino. Had pulled her almost unconsciously towards someone who is everything she is not.

"Ino?"

She knew he had heard her and the knowledge had her mentally backtracking even though her body physically could not.

"N-nothing! Let go of me! How dare you use your Kagemane on me!"

"I said no. Now tell me why you've been avoiding me."

Do you understand? Have you ever felt that need to blurt something out so badly that your mouth goes dry and your tongue feels like it's sticking to the roof? But then you realize that you can't. It's one of those unspoken things that you instinctively know that if you say it, then everything changes. Everything you have ever known and are comfortable with will change and you have no idea whether the result will be good or bad. And that is why your lips are hard to pry apart, why the words that were screaming to get out mere moments before are now a poisonous jumble lodged in your throat.

Ino understood. And she hated it.

Hated this feeling of insecurity around someone she has known her whole life. Someone she trusted with her own life, not just figuratively, but also literally. But it was obvious that she had to say something or else he would simply hold her there all day and all night until she gave in. So she settled for something close to the truth. Words that were pushed out quietly but just as bitterly.

"You don't need me."

She looked up to meet the startled gleam in his eyes. Eyes that were focused solely on her.

"And I don't need you."

The dark expression that flickered fleetingly across his otherwise inscrutable face did nothing to alleviate the weight in her chest. If anything, it simply twisted it mercilessly until she felt as though every breath she sucked in was burning its way through her lungs.

"Do you even know what you're saying?"

His voice was low, carrying no further than her ears. The warmth of his exhalation tickled the short strands of hair curling around her neck and the confusing shiver that ran through her body almost had her crumbling in an ignoble heap at his feet.

"No, I don't. I don't know anything anymore."

The broken confession cost her more than he would ever know. Her head throbbing, Ino turned slowly and walked away. She was glad when he made no movement to stop her and she heard no footsteps following her. It took a while for her befuddled brain to register why she could even move at all.

He had let her go.

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**A/N: **Good luck to all those who are back in school again. Just got over my sore throat, thank goodness...

Next update coming on Thursday. Stay tuned!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

Got my hands on some new (well, new for me) anime so have been super busy ploughing my way through them this past few days. If anyone here hasn't watched _Tenjou Tenge _before, I really recommend it! There's only 24 episodes and it ends a bit abruptly unlike the manga, but the storyline is fantastic and super addicting!

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Konoha shinobi had a system of sending teams out in groups of threes. One was the leader, the others complemented each other in skills and knowledge. If push came to shove and one of them died, then having two remaining shinobi greatly increased the chance of at least one of them completing the mission and making it home.

But that was for attack missions. Sleuth ones were slightly different. Spying required almost complete silence, the teammates communicating more by experience and absolute trust than overt strategies. Moreover, the shinobi themselves tended to have slightly different abilities, ones that were more suited to information gathering and escape techniques than explosive fighting. Greater numbers meant a greater chance of getting caught. Two people were more than enough.

And that is the situation in which we find our hero and heroine. The mission had been successfully completed, they were on their way back from the Rain village and they should have been bickering comfortably as they always did. Instead, the atmosphere as they camped for the night around the low fire was oppressive. As suffocating as it had been for the past few months.

Our girl sat apart from him, her eyes fixed determinedly on the flickering shadows dancing across the dirt. The forest was eerily silent, the towering canopy nearly blocking out the moonlight and casting the two in darkness.

Now, Shikamaru was generally a fairly easy-going guy. He had no interest in gossip, training or anything that involved physical exertion really. That was probably one of the reasons he got along rather well with Ino. She would talk on and on while he drifted along beside her, occasionally putting in the required noncommittal sound while his mind filed away any necessary information that came out of her mouth.

Then she might demand that he do something for her, which he would have found troublesome coming from anyone else but would agree to nonetheless. Actually, Shikamaru still found it troublesome but he had long since come to terms with the knowledge that Ino was much easier to get along with if he kept her happy. So really, he didn't mind too much. When Ino was happy, she would laugh and hug him, her silky hair brushing against his face as she pressed against him briefly in a softly scented bundle of warmth. And that pleased him very much indeed.

But lately, she had been pulling away, the constant chatter and energy disappearing from his life as abruptly as the warm rays of sunlight on a cloudy day. It was unsettling, disturbing.

At first, he had tried giving her some space, giving her time for whatever it was that she was so angry about to blow over. But during that time, her anger had ended up shifting into sullenness, an inexplicable gap that Shikamaru belatedly realized had been borne partly out of his apparent indifference.

He then resorted to prodding her, following her around in the hope of annoying her enough to give her a reason to yell at him and get it out of her system. Chouji had been oddly amused by his old friend's sudden active approach, not saying anything in particular but merely grinning cheekily whenever he caught sight of the tall dark-haired boy trailing after the blonde like her shadow.

Nothing had worked though. It was always like this with Ino. She was the one person who seemed to be able to slip through his intricately laid plans and surprise him. Usually, he secretly found that refreshing but now, it was just plain troublesome. The fact that his promotion to Chuunin meant that he no longer went on missions solely with his old genin team had not helped mend the breach that seemed to grow wider and wider as the days passed.

Shikamaru watched as she refused to look anywhere in his direction. This had gone on long enough and even his formidable patience was starting to wan.

"Why are you doing this, Ino?"

She turned away from him. If he had been anyone other than Nara Shikamaru, he would have physically forced her head back around to face him. As it was, something like that was too troublesome and would have undoubtedly made her even more defensive. He hated that she was blocking him out, refusing to let him read her.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He sighed.

"Don't lie to me, Ino."

She scoffed in reply, shifting closer to the fire in an attempt to warm the chill that seemed to have taken over her body for the longest time. Shikamaru watched her rub her hands together, shivering as the night wind nipped past them. He sighed again.

Strong hands enveloped her pale ones, chafing them gently between his own. Large blue eyes stared numbly at the sight of their clasped hands before slowly traveling up to fix on his face. The flames cast a soft glow on his tanned skin, the light reflecting in his dark eyes as they stared steadily into hers.

"Don't…"

She hated that her voice was trembling. The corner of Shikamaru's lips twitched upwards although his eyes remained serious.

"Don't what?"

Ino shook her head wordlessly, her mind unable to form what she wanted to say, if indeed, she even knew what she wanted to say. All she could focus on was the way his calloused fingers were stroking her skin. It was strange how quickly she had gone from being dead cold to burning hot. It was almost as if she was suffering from a fever.

The boy shifted closer, his broader frame shielding her from the worst of the night air. Almost instinctively, Ino leaned towards the heat radiating off of him, before she jerked back hastily.

"Don't do this, Ino."

She had always liked his voice. Ino could admit at least that much to herself. It was pleasingly low, a husky roll of words that slipped smoothly out between his lips almost like a purr. When you think about it, that very much suited his personality. The very sound of his voice conjured up images of lazy afternoon naps and indulgent pleasures.

Her eyes dropped away from his. It was hard to look at him. The thought surprised her and yet was not surprising at the same time. She had never had any trouble looking him in the eye, usually while yelling at him for some reason or other. But Ino was honest enough to realize how much she hid behind her loud voice. No, it had nothing to do with her self-confidence. It was more like she did not know how to face what she sometimes saw in his eyes. What he sometimes _let_ her see. Something heady and breath-taking that flitted to the surface whenever they were enjoying a rare moment of quiet. Something tingly and frightening that patiently waited for her to recognize it.

Ino couldn't. Not yet.

"Shika…"

"She means nothing."

He was too smart. So Ino took the other route; she played dumb.

"I don't know what you mean."

Shikamaru simply squeezed her hands, his lips finally curving in a seldom-seen smile. Even in this mood, Ino could not help but smile back shyly. His eyes softened, that _something _emerging to the surface. He spoke before she could look away.

"No, don't turn away from me. I'm right here, Ino."

Her reply was cut off at the sudden stinging pain splintering her left arm. Ino looked down in bewilderment at the long needle glinting in the light of the fire, the tip of which was deep within her flesh as a thin stream of blood ran down her bare arm.

"What…?"

"Damn!"

With that, Shikamaru shoved her behind a bush, black meeting blue briefly before three Rain nin leapt down from the trees.

"Konoha, eh? Where's the rest of your little team?"

"Nowhere."

The boy stood there almost casually, his eyelids half-lowered in his usual drowsy appearance. But inside, his mind was working furiously. There were only three of them, meaning that he would probably be able to bind them long enough for Ino to escape. It was unfortunate that he was too low on chakra to use the more advanced Kagemane techniques or else he would have been able to get rid of them all at once. As it was, he would have to make do with Plan B. His shadow crept stealthily across the dirt to mingle with those of the other men.

_Gotcha. Ino, get out of here!_

Ino winced as she hastily pulled the needle out, ignoring the feel of warm blood seeping out of the open wound. She braced herself to leap out when she caught sight of his sharp glare and almost minute shake of his head.

_No, Shika. There's too many of them for you to fight alone._

You might blame her for what she did next. Directly disobeying your team leader, who also happened to be Konoha's strategic genius, was stupid, plain and simple. Distrusting in your teammate's knowledge in the limitations of their own abilities was disloyal. Ino really was not either of these things and yet she displayed them here. Regardless, what happened, happened. She thought she was strong enough to protect him, strong like that awful sand shinobi.

_You don't need her. I'm here. _

Turns out she was wrong.

Ino was not strong enough to fight off the hidden nin that leapt down to attack her, was not smart enough to realize that Shikamaru would break his concentration and release his Kagemane on the other three in his instinctive attempt to help her. All she could do was watch, her mouth open in a silent scream as her attacker grabbed her roughly, his fingers digging cruelly into her forearms as he forced her to watch Shikamaru relentlessly fight a losing battle against the three other shinobi.

Maybe sometimes, it really is too late. Maybe when two people who were destined to share the same path take too many wrong turns, they can never find their way back again. If that was the case, then what can you do about it? What if there is really only one person whom you are destined to be with and that person, for some reason or other, is no longer around? Does that mean you are destined to be alone forever? Because if you find another love, that would mean you're messing up the whole chain of relationships by taking someone who is destined for someone else.

Or maybe, in very special circumstances, it is never too late. Maybe only one person strayed but the other was steady enough that they managed to guide them back home. Maybe if you take enough wrong turns, you'll end up back where you started and it is as if you never left in the first place. Or it could be that even if you both get lost, you could run into each other while being lost and then you would technically be found.

Whatever the conclusion, one thing is certain: every relationship is a story. A story where every single one of your actions has a consequence that you have no choice but to bear. A story whose pages can only be flipped forwards because there is no turning back.

Whether our hero and heroine ever sat down and moralized about such things is uncertain. It might have been too abstract for someone as direct as Ino and too troublesome for someone as lazy as Shikamaru. But somewhere deep inside each of them is the faintest glimmer of understanding similar to this. That some things cannot be erased and other things will affect their lives forever.

And now, at the end, she finally heard it.

With every slash of metal slicing through flesh, Ino heard what he had been telling her that night on the hill.

With every thud of his body being thrown against rock, Ino heard what she had seemed to be waiting her whole life to hear.

With every sickening crunch of bone being shattered, Ino heard what he had been telling her his whole life.

And even as she whipped around to sink her teeth into her captor's neck, even as she feverishly ripped his flesh out and the metallic taste of his blood filled her mouth as she broke free in a crazed, blinded slaughter of every Rain shinobi around them, Ino heard him as his broken and battered body slumped to the ground.

_I love you, Ino. _

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**A/N: **Yeah firstly, I just made that stuff up about the shinobi mission teams - I needed to get them out and alone and didn't really want to come up with some way for them to either ditch or kill off their other teammate.

Next chapter is the last one! WAAAAAH...coming to the end of this story! Update should be in a week or so. Thanks again!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

YEAAAH - finallyreached the last chapter! This has been a fantastic venture and I wanted to thank everyone who has read this and especially everyone who has taken the time and effort in sending me a review. I really do appreciate all your comments and suggestions and hopefully, my writing will become better and better over time.

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"Ino, what happened to you?"

Sakura gasped, taking in the bedraggled appearance of her childhood friend.

Blood soaked her from head to toe, dying the tangled strands of pale blonde hair a gruesome red and dripping thickly off the torn edges of her clothing. The kunoichi was soaked in it, almost as if she had waded through a sea of blood and guts, the darker splotches of which the other girl wisely chose to ignore. How much of it was Ino's, Sakura had no idea. Unseeing eyes turned in her direction, the blue clouded over with something that tore at Sakura's heart simply to see.

"Shika…save Shika."

Her voice was hoarse as she slid the lifeless body off her shoulder and held it out to Sakura like an offering. Yelling for other medics to help her hoist the body onto a stretcher, Sakura glanced back anxiously at her friend as the team carried Nara Shikamaru quickly into the emergency room.

There was no way someone of Ino's size could have possibly carried Shikamaru all the way back to Konoha under ordinary circumstances. She must have been running on pure adrenaline.

"Ino."

The pink-haired girl kept her voice low and calm, trying to reach out to the other as she stood staring mutely down the hallway the team had disappeared.

"Ino, you need to get yourself checked for injuries. I'll inform Tsunade-sama that the two of you have arrived back; she's going to have to be here to heal Shikamaru anyways."

His name seemed to shake her out of her reverie a bit.

"Shikamaru…"

Sakura tentatively grasped hold of Ino's shoulders, unheeding of the cold slide of blood under her fingers. Up close, the rank stench of the congealing fluid was overwhelming, repulsive in its familiarity.

"Come on, Ino. Come with me."

She started to maneuver the girl away when, all of a sudden, Ino started shrieking and fighting her off.

"No! Let go of me! Shika…"

Ino collapsed suddenly as exhaustion overtook her. Gently pulling her friend up and depositing her in the wheelchair a waiting medic was holding out, Sakura hurried off towards the Hokage's office.

This was not going to be good.

**-o-O-o-**

Hospitals are not a pleasant place to be.

Consider a haunted house. People generally think it's haunted because there's a ghost in it, right? And usually there's a ghost in it because someone died in there. So shouldn't hospitals be the most haunted place ever? People die there every day, especially in a ninja village like Konoha where shinobi are nothing more than an endless stream of replaceable tools that reach the end of their useful lives quickly and without warning.

Ino hated hospitals.

She hated waking up to a stark, sterile room with bandages wrapped tightly around her like a coffin and the look of concern on her family's faces. She hated visiting friends who struggled to pretend that they were fine and that their broken limbs or scarred flesh were all part of the job. But most of all, she hated coming in and seeing her future. Hated seeing the damaged bodies, the sobbing families and the meaningless, gleaming plaque in the foyer commemorating the names of shinobi the villagers neither knew, nor really cared about.

And yet, Ino was here. Had been here for every minute of the past two weeks. She ate the food her mother left her, washed in the adjoining washroom and slept in the hard wooden chair next to Shikamaru's bed. During this time, she had talked to him, watched as the nurses and doctors checked him daily and simply sat staring at his healing face as he lay there unconscious.

Ino had done a lot of thinking. She had plenty of time to do so. In these circumstances, you might expect her to be thinking about Shikamaru. Well, yes and no. When someone says they're thinking _about _someone, they usually mean they were thinking of memories involving that person or daydreaming about scenarios involving that person.

Ino did neither. She was thinking about the type of person he was. Then she thought about the type of person she was.

Tsunade-sama had worked on the shinobi for the entire night, various higher-level medics rushing through the corridors as they fought to save the village's genius strategist. Ino had awoken to the stern face of the Godaime, who had assured them that Nara Shikamaru was in stable condition and that the major wounds had been healed. All he needed now was lots of bed rest.

The underlying message came across loud and clear. She was the one who had ruined the mission and in addition to doing so, had placed the life of her teammate on the line. No doubt a disciplinary review would be held for her actions as soon as everything here got settled. Ino found that she didn't really care. It _was_ her fault. She deserved all the blame they could throw at her.

Her mother had visited just this morning, bringing by some food and clean clothes. In the first few days, they had tried to persuade her to rest at home, that the Naras would tell her right away when Shikamaru woke up. Ino had said nothing. She had not argued but she had not moved either. And so they had let her be.

She now sat staring at the neatly wrapped bento box sitting on top of the side table. Her mother had made scallion onigiri, just like she had requested. And Ino smiled.

Let's take a page from Ino's ninjutsu book and go inside her head for a moment.

Have you ever wondered what a person's mind looks like? In Shikamaru's case, it might be a complex shogi board with millions of paths all leading to a set destination. The paths would be forever twisting, forever changing and a person could get lost in there if they weren't careful. Or a genius. In Ino's case, it might look something like a huge room with many doors. Some doors might be locked, some might lead to other doors and some, like the one we are about to open, might be small and dusty from long-time disuse.

Images are flickering before us like an old-fashioned movie reel and we curiously turn the sound up.

We see a younger Ino sitting at her kitchen table, determinedly molding a lump of rice that her mother had warned her was too big but Ino chose to ignore. All the while, she is chattering away about how she'd be a better wife than Sakura for Sasuke-kun because she's not only beautiful and skilled, but a great cook as well. Her mother is standing nearby, listening quietly as she wipes the dishes dry.

"_Ino."_

The girl pauses mid-sentence. Her mother looked strangely serious.

"_What, Mom?"_

"_Do you know what I think is the happiest type of marriage?"_

She shrugs, somewhat surprised at the sudden question and a bit embarrassed about having such a conversation with her mother. The older woman smiles, setting down the towel in her hands.

"_I think it's when you love him 99.9 percent and he loves you 100 percent. That way, instead of spending the rest of your life chasing after him, you'll always have the feeling of being loved."_

Ino nods slowly. That made sense but why bring it up here? Her mother watches as she sprinkles the finishing sesame seeds on her rather misshapen riceballs and carefully places them in a lunch box.

"_Are those for Uchiha Sasuke, dear? You spent an awful lot of time trying to get them right."_

Now, just to clarify, this woman was smart. She had to be in order to handle every single one of Inoshi's messes. She remembered exactly who Ino had yelled she was going grocery shopping for early this morning.

"_They're for Shikamaru, remember? He likes scallion onigiri best and said the ones you made for me tasted okay the other day."_

"_Oh, that's right. Did he ask you to make it for him or is there some sort of special occasion today?"_

For once, our girl seems to be at a loss for words. Perhaps she was.

"_No…I just felt like it. I like making him happy."_

Right at this moment, the images we're watching flickers for a bit. You might wonder if it was because her subconscious had been urging her to stop and consider what she had just said, or if it was because some surge of emotions had accompanied these words. Whatever the case might be, we're going to leave the fading scenes of her anxiously handing the box to the boy and the focusing in of her mind on his secretly pleased expression.

There are other interesting things to listen in on right now.

"Hey."

The softly murmured sound made its way through her drowsiness.

Ino lifted her head and blinked wearily at the bright light streaming through the half-open blinds. Every muscle in her body was aching and it wasn't until she registered the feel of a warm, solid hand clasped in her own that the memories of where she was and what had happened hit her.

Ino jumped up, leaning eagerly over the body on the hospital bed.

"Shikamaru! You're awake!"

And he was indeed. Shikamaru smiled faintly up at her, grimacing as the movement caused a sharp pain from his still-swollen eye. Squealing, Ino flung herself on top of him, sobbing and laughing at the same time.

"Oh, Shika! I'm so glad you're awake! Should I call a nurse? I should, right?"

"Ow, damnit Ino! That hurts!"

"What? Oh, sorry!"

Pulling back marginally, the girl grinned sheepishly down at him, the tears flowing freely down her flushed cheeks and dripping on to him. Instead of wiping his face though, Shikamaru reached up a bandaged hand and tenderly tucked a stray blonde strand behind her ear. His voice was infinitely gentle.

"Don't cry, Ino. I'm okay now."

She shook her head furiously. Catching hold of his hand, she pressed it against her face.

"I'm so sorry, Shikamaru."

Her words were hushed and came out in a rush of self-loathing, despite the finger he placed against her lips to stop her.

"It's all my fault. I was so stupid – I thought I was strong enough and deliberately disobeyed your orders. It's my fault you're lying here all hurt and…I thought you were dead, Shika! I thought they killed you! I was so scared…"

"No."

It came out as a forceful exhalation. Ino snapped her mouth shut, watching with glistening eyes as he weakly grasped her other hand and lifted it to rest on his bandaged chest.

"It's not your fault. Don't ever say that, Ino. It was just a mistake and I'm fine now. Stop thinking about it."

"But...but, Shikamaru…"

The scowl that creased his forehead warned her not to pursue the subject further and for once, Ino obeyed. Brushing the tears from her face, she smiled down at him, taking in the beloved features of the man who had stood by her side her entire life.

The sunlight lit up her cloud of pale hair like a halo and reflected off her eyes. Eyes that had always searched for him, seeking him out amidst the crowds. Maybe they had been so all along but he had been looking away for so long that he forgot to look back. Even geniuses slip up once in a while.

Shikamaru sucked in a much needed breath, every sense painfully aware of how close she was and how she was looking at him. The hand on his chest squeezed his own a second before she bent down and pressed her lips against his softly.

Opening eyes he had not realized he had closed, Shikamaru found that his mind was unnervingly blank.

"Ino?"

His voice sounded like a hoarse croak in his ears and he winced inwardly. The girl did not seem to mind however. Instead, she settled herself against him, carefully resting most of her weight on the bed while she continued to smile shyly down at him.

"Thank you, Shika. But don't you ever dare do anything like that again. Because if you do, then I'd be forced to jump in and save you."

Amused by his adorably puzzled expression, Ino caught his mouth for another slow kiss. This time, Shikamaru had enough presence of mind to respond. Their tongues traced each others' hesitatingly at first, before dipping in to what felt like home. When she finally pulled back, it was only to whisper smilingly against his lips.

"I would die for you too, Shikamaru."

And as Ino rested her head close to his on his pillow and her breathing relaxed into the pattern of sleep, Shikamaru smiled. Dropping a lingering kiss on her forehead, he allowed himself to drift off with her by his side.

This was the position in which both sets of parents discovered them a few hours later. The men grinned goofily, shooting each other the thumbs-up in a manner that was disturbingly reminiscent of Gai and his student. They kept this up for a while until their wives got sick of it and kicked them out of the room before quietly leaving and shutting the door behind them.

Inoshi and Shikato had seen it coming all along. They had seen the invisible ribbon that had linked the two chubby arms reaching out to each other that night in the delivery ward. They had rejoiced as that ribbon grew brighter and thicker with each passing year. They had watched when mistakes, self-doubt and death had tried futilely to sever that link. And, if their lives were blessed, they would continue to watch it grow ever stronger in the years to come.

And so we'll leave them now, as they stand gloating and cheering each other on in the quiet hallway just outside the door. Because we know how the story goes.

We know what Ino was trying to say and rest assured, Shikamaru knew it too.

-

_The End._

-

* * *

**A/N: **Ahhh...happy endings truly are better than anything. My last multi-chp fic hada sad ending so I've been busy making up for it via this fic and my one-shots. Oh, and if you haven't already, please do check out my latest ShikaIno one-shot 'Telling you Without Words' - my first attempt at Shika smut...very very mild smut, that is.

Am hard at work on my Ino x Neji fic right now but in the meantime, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend 'Of Arranged Marriages and Butterbeers' by Fred's bride (also on my favourites list). It's a Harry Potter fic about Hermione x Fred Wesley and it is truly fascinating. A bit dark and hard to stomach at times, but huge potential.


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